Dr. John Carter, Former Samford Education Dean, Dies at 92

Dr. John T. Carter, who served on the faculty of Samford University's Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education for 31 years, died Sunday, March 2, in Birmingham. He was 92.

Dr. Carter joined the Samford faculty in 1956 and served until his retirement in 1987. He was dean of the education school from 1980 until 1986.

A native of Newton, Miss., Carter held a bachelor of science degree from the Mississippi State University, master of science from the University of Tennessee and doctor of education from the University of Illinois.

He taught at Wood Junior College and Clarke Memorial Junior College in Mississippi prior to joining the Samford faculty.

During his Samford tenure, Carter initiated a series of summer workshops for teachers in a variety of subjects including math, kindergarten, phonics, aerospace and others. He served as executive director of the Fellowship of Baptist Educators which sponsored Christian Corresponders, a pen pal program for thousands of students in the U.S. and China. He also led the International Book Project that provided thousands of books to foreign university libraries where students were studying the English language. Carter started the Samford University Retired Faculty Association that meets monthly at Samford.

Over the years, he and his wife, Dr. Frances Carter, supported education school programs by funding scholarships and sponsoring the Young Authors Conference held annually at the school. Dr. Frances Carter also taught for many years in the education school.

John Carter was a veteran of World War II, having served as a paratrooper in the North African and European theaters of combat. He was part of Operation Dragoon in August 1944 that established a second front in southern France to complement the Operation Overlord D-Day invasion of Normandy beaches in June 1944. He was awarded five battle stars and a bronze arrowhead for his service. Carter wrote a book about his war expariences, Some Sidelights of Operation Dragoon, published in 2013. He was also a licensed pilot and was active in the Civil Air Patrol.

A celebration service of Carter's life will be held Friday, March 7, at 11 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Dawson Memorial Baptist in Homewood. In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be sent to the John and Frances Carter Scholarship Fund at Samford.

Carter is survived by his wife, Frances; their son, John Wayne Carter; their daughter, Frankye Nell Carter Branum; seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.